The company that owns Witney Community Stadium says Witney Town FC are no longer allowed to play at the ground because they were unable to pay the rent.

The football club were last week given their marching orders from their Downs Road base when the landlords, On the Edge Ltd, said that they would not be issuing a lease to the Uhlsport Hellenic League club.

The senior shareholder of On the Edge Ltd, Chris Gurney, said: “We would like it to be known that we are a great supporter of the club.

“We just quietly get on with it. It is very wrong to be imputed as the bad boys. We are a major if not the only sponsor of the club.

“When we bought the ground we gave it back to the club free of charge.

“We paid the rates and ground rent and never received a penny and we never asked for it.

“But when the ground was used for other activities, like car boot sales, we asked for some rent.

“We gave it to them for football use, not to run commercial activities.”

Witney Town will be playing their remaining home game this season at Carterton FC.

Gavin Brown, who is a director of both On The Edge and Witney Golf Club Ltd, said: “The football club told the owners that they would be unable to pay any bills.”